HPF201-210

Chapter 201

"After questioning the healer, he was taken

away and... further questioned. Apparently,

the Minister was just in time as the healer

was getting ready to dose them again. With

some of the potion on hand, a hospital

Potions Master was able to develop an

antidote and the Longbottoms were

immediately dosed with it.

"They woke up this morning. That is, the

potion was neutralised, allowing them to

come back to their senses, this morning.

They're now, in there, with family and a new

healer and medi-witch team."

"And, you're here, because?" asked Sirius.

"Orders. Apparently, direct from the Minister,

himself," said Senior Auror Savage. "'If

anything happens to them after they've so

recently woken up, it would disastrous!' were

his words, I think."

"Let me guess, said Sirius a little sarcastically.

"The story in tomorrow's Prophet will be

something along the lines of how the

Minister, himself, solved the problem of the

Longbottoms' long term insanity, and saw to

them getting their sanity back."

Savage just smirked and was about to say

something back when the door opened.

Madam Longbottom stuck her head out.

"Dumbledore gone?" she asked.

"Yes, Ma'am," replied the other auror as

Madam Longbottom looked about.

When her eyes recognised Sirius she looked

at him for a moment before she said, "Get in

here, Black." Then she held the door open.

Sirius said to the two aurors, "Nice talking to

you. And, thanks for blocking Dumbledore."

Both aurors smiled and nodded as he

stepped between them and through the

open door.

As soon as Sirius stepped in, Madam

Longbottom shut the door, pointed with her

chin and said, "This way."

She led Sirius down the length of the ward

and through a set of hospital shielding

curtains.

She immediately said, "Frank, Alice? Sirius

has arrived."

Stepping within, Sirius could see both were

sitting up on their beds, with both beds

pushed closer together. Both looked about

how he looked when he first escaped

Azkaban; but, a lot cleaner.

"Frank, Alice," he said giving both a smile

and nod. "You both look like shit."

The comment earned him a wide grin back

from both but an angry rebuke from Madam

Longbottom for both his remarks and his

language.

After dinner, while Harry was pacing the

floor in their apartment unable to

concentrate on assignments, he felt his

communications mirror vibrate. Whipping it

out he opened it up and waited for the

screen to clear.

As soon as Sirius appeared on the screen he

asked, "Well?"

"I am. Thank you for asking, Pup," his

godfather cheekily replied.

While Harry rolled his eyes in annoyance,

Sirius gave a little chuckle before he said,

"I've been in to see them both. I only left

their bedsides about ten minutes ago,

actually; when I was tossed out to allow

them to rest."

Before Harry could even ask his first question,

Sirius continued. "They're both well. Both

have their full mental faculties back.

However, they're also both quite weak.

That's understandable. It's going to take

them quite some time to rebuild their

wasted muscles and be able to at least move

about unaided.

"The first people they asked to see were

Madam Longbottom and Neville, of course.

However, while I was there, Alice asked after

you. She wants to see you. So, I'll be

organising a time for you to visit with

Professor Flitwick. I also had to tell them that

you are bonded to two witches in your year

as I expect you'll want to bring both when

you come in to visit with them. I didn't want

to tell them more than that because I didn't

want to shock them with it.

"Neville will be spending the next few days

living at Longbottom Hall and will return to

school on Sunday afternoon. He's not happy

with that. However, he has to attend school

and, therefore, cannot take too much time

off.

"While I was there Madam Longbottom and I

had a private chat. Apparently, their

Healer-of-Record had been dosing the both

of them with a senility-inducing potion. He'd

been paid by someone to keep them in that

state. That person had also been supplying

the healer with the potion. The DMLE cannot

get the name of the person who's been doing

that due to a Wizard's Oath. But,

current unsubstantiated belief is that it was

Dumbledore.

"Dumbledore?" asked Harry. "Why would

Dum... Ah!" he said, suddenly understanding.

"Yes," said Sirius. "Because of either who

Neville might be; or because Alice is your

godmother; or both. Plus, the potion used is

supposed to be something no one's ever

seen before. And that includes the team of

Potions Masters and Mistresses employed by

the hospital. They say it's almost alchemic in

nature."

"And Dumbledore apprenticed under the

world-renowned Alchemist, Nicholas

Flamel," said Harry.

"Precisely," agreed Sirius, before he changed

the subject. "I hear from her that Daphne

wrote to her asking her to investigate why

you've not received your Order of Merlin

yet."

"Yeah; I'm not that bothered by it, but both

my ladies are," replied Harry. "As slaying the

basilisk was something I did, not something

my parent's did for me in eighty-one, I'm

willing to go along with it."

"Well, she's now going to be busy with

tending to Frank and Alice," explained Sirius.

"So, starting tomorrow, I take over the

investigation."

"Of course," said Harry. "And thank her for

tending to it until now. It is very much

appreciated."

"I already have, knowing how you'd have

reacted," said Sirius.

"Thank you," said Harry, honestly moved his

godfather was looking out for his interests

and knew exactly how he'd react.

The second task was only a couple weeks off,

but Harry's mind was almost fixated on the

Longbottoms and how they came to be

woken up.

It was a few days later, on the weekend,

when Harry and the girls were picked up by

Sirius from Hogwarts and taken to Saint

Mungo's. They Floo'ed directly from

Professor Flitwick's office, this time.

"Remus has a job," said Sirius by way of

saying hello.

Chapter 202

"I know," said Harry. "He's working for the

Lily Evans Memorial Scholarship Fund."

"He's the Bursar," said Sirius.

"That means he runs the fund," said Harry,

not expecting Sirius to understand the

muggle term.

"You set it up for him," said Sirius, not even

asking.

"Did not!" denied Harry.

"Did too!" disagreed Sirius.

"Did not!" said Harry.

"Did too!" said Sirius.

"Did not!" said Harry.

"Did too!" said Sirius.

"Stop it, you two," interrupted Hermione.

Both just grinned at each other.

Arriving directly at the public Floo point at

Saint Mungo's the four made their way

directly to the fourth floor and to a private

ward just the other side of the Janus Thickey

ward.

Sirius gave a nod to the lone auror on guard

outside the door and led the three Potters

inside.

Walking in, Harry saw Frank and Alice, of

course; but also present were Augusta

Longbottom and Neville, Amelia Bones and

two other adults Harry hadn't seen before,

but looked a lot like those born as

Longbottoms.

Both beds were close together. And Harry

could see from the marks on the floor that

they were often pushed together and pulled

apart. A large window was letting in the

morning light that was showing a dazzling

display of colours from the various vased

flowers throughout the room. Neville was

carefully going through the various vases

muttering to himself.

As soon as he saw it was Harry, Daphne and

Hermione who walked in behind Sirius, his

face lit up both in happy surprise and, it

looked like, relief.

"Harry, Daphne, Hermione!" he exclaimed,

turning away from the vase of flowers he was

looking through. He quickly crossed the room

to be with them.

Surprising him, Hermione reached out and

embraced him in a hug. Daphne gave a little

snicker from the look of trepidation he wore

while hugging back and looking at Harry, and

stepped in for her own hug. That helped the

other boy relax.

Harry stepped forward and said, "Don't

expect me to hug you." He stuck his hand out

to shake and, as Neville almost solemnly

shook it, said, "Expect a hearty handshake

and..." slapping Neville on the arm, "... an

even heartier 'attaboy!'. So, attaboy!"

That earned him a grin in return and smiles

from everyone else.

A raspy male voice from the beds said, "Yep.

That's James's son, alright."

"Harry?" asked a tentative female adult voice

almost as raspy as the male voice.

Harry turned to look back at the Longbottom

parents, smiled and replied, "Yes, Ma'am.

Harry James Potter, at your service...

godmother."

With a smile Alice held out her hand and said,

"Come here, Harry. Let me get a good look at

you."

Harry walked over to Alice's side of the two

beds and held his own hand out to the

woman. She grasped it in her own and pulled

him a little closer.

"Yes," she softly said, peering at his face and

letting her eyes drift over his features. "The

Potter mop for hair. Lily's eyes, colour and

shape. Your paternal grandfather's jaw. But

you're rather undersized for a Potter. Potter's

are usually a little on the larger side than the

norm."

Instead of explaining why, Harry just smiled

back. "It's good to see you, godmother."

"Now," she said, still holding his hand. "I've

been told you have found yourself in a

three-way soul bond." Turning to look at

Hermione and Daphne, she asked, "I take it

these two lovely young ladies are them?"

"Yes, ma'am," he replied, also looking at

them.

Letting go of Harry's hand she beckoned to

them both. "Well, come over here and let me

get a look at you."

Harry stepped back as his two wives came

forward.

Reaching out with both her hands, Alice

grasped one each of Daphne and Hermione.

Peering at Daphne she said, "You'd be

Daphne. I can see the Greengrass and

Pinegrew bloodlines in you." And, turning to

Hermione, asked, "And you'd be...

Harmony?"

"Hermione," Hermione softly corrected.

"My apologies," replied Alice.

"It's a common mistake," said Hermione,

softly shaking her head. "I'm not offended."

"Thank you," said Alice. "He takes care of

you?" she asked, looking to them both.

"He does," said Daphne with a small smile.

"He's very good to us."

"Let me know if he ever needs setting

straight," Alice said quite firmly.

Both girls nodded.

As the ladies were talking, Harry moved out

of the way and beckoned Mesdames Bones

and Longbottom and Sirius over to the side.

When they joined him, he quietly said,

"Something about all this has been bothering

since I learned the news Frank and Alice

were back with us."

Frowning, Madam Longbottom warily asked,

"What do you mean, young man?"

Ignoring the unspoken put-down in the older

witch's voice and words, he replied, "It's the

timing of it all."

That got their attention.

Turning to Madam Bones, he asked, "Who,

among your aurors, did the Minister use to

investigate, as he claims?"

"No one that I know of," replied Madam

Bones. "I've been asking that same question.

None of my aurors have admitted to being

involved until the day we came to arrest

Healer... the healer."

"That's what I thought you'd say," he said.

"Why?" she asked.

Gathering his thoughts, Harry said, "What

I'm going to say is going to make me sound

like a conspiracy theory nutter. But, please,

hear me out."

He received a nod from Madam Bones and

Sirius but Madam Longbottom just frowned

at him.

"A little over a week ago, Daphne wrote to

Madam Longbottom asking her to investigate

why I've still not heard anything about that

Order of Merlin Chief Investigator Fitzwilliam

practically ordered the Minister to award me

for slaying the basilisk in the Chamber of

Secrets.

Chapter 203

"Madam Longbottom immediately set about

to discover why, only to find out it was being

held up in the Minister's office. Like a terrier

after a rat she went on a tear throughout the

Minister's office, and just wouldn't quit.

"Now, the Minister is always one for

garnering publicity. And, awarding an Order

of Merlin to whom the populace of magical

Britain consider a hero, would be a win-win

for him. He could use that to easily boost his

own popularity. So, I asked myself, why is his

office deliberately trying to block it?"

Harry could see the three adults hadn't

thought of that. And it was making them

really think.

"He was either bribed, or someone had

something over him," Madam Bones mused.

"Either way, he was obviously under

pressure," said Madam Longbottom, now

coming to understand where Harry was

going.

"Irrespective of whether it's a bribe or

blackmail, he was clearly under pressure to

block it," said Harry. "Personally, my money

is on either Dumbledore or Malfoy... or both

for different reasons."

"Alright, I've got that," said Madam Bones.

"But, what does that have to do with Frank

and Alice."

"Getting there," he said. "Now, the Minister's

in a bit of a pickle. He has to block me getting

the Order, but he also knows Madam

Longbottom won't quit. So, he's between a

rock and a hard place. He can't go against

Dumbledore or Malfoy and, if she keeps

going, Madam Longbottom is eventually

going to force him to make the award.

"So, he works out... or, I suspect Dolores

Umbridge worked out... their only hope laid

in getting Madam Longbottom to stop. But,

how to get her to stop? What was more

important to Madam Longbottom than her

responsibility to the alliance?"

"Family..." said Madam Longbottom softly,

suddenly understanding.

"Exactly," said Harry. "Now, threats were

never going to work. Especially, against

someone who combated three inner circle

Death Eaters and another,

and captured them. Nor against someone

who sits on the Wizengamot and is used to

the pompous blustering fool we call a

Minister, and his pet pink toad of an

Undersecretary.

"So, what I'm horrified to suspect I'm right

about," he said, carefully watching their

expressions. "I think the Minister... or far

more likely the Pink Toad... has known about

this healer dosing Frank and Alice with that

horrid potion for quite some time.

"The Pink Toad knew that Madam

Longbottom would drop everything and rush

to their bedsides if Frank and Alice came out

of their... illness. Nothing else would be as

important to her. Nor, should it be."

Harry could tell Madam Longbottom, let

alone Madam Bones with her decades of

investigative experience, was putting two

and two together and coming up with the

desire to kill a Minister and his Pink Toad.

"Now, let's put the facts together," said Harry,

forging ahead. "The Minister apparently,

according to him, runs an off-the-books

investigation into the health of Frank and

Alice, more than a decade after they were

hurt. Madam Bones is unable to

discover who of her aurors was involved in

that investigation, if any. This so-called

investigation reaches its conclusion right in

the middle of when Madam Longbottom,

who also happens to be the mother and

mother-in-law of the two who were hurt, is

on a tear through his office. This, at a time

when the Minister is far too busy trying to

fight off the effects of Madam Longbottom

on his office to get much work as a Minister

done, let alone anything else. It also happens

to be the one thing, or one of the very few

things, that would cause Madam Longbottom

to break off her tear. And what are you left

with?"

Harry could see the three adults well

understood. Madam Bones was both

stunned and appalled, as was Sirius. But,

Madam Longbottom was definitely building

up a head of steam.

"The bastards!" Sirius softly but angrily

muttered.

"I'm going to kill him," growled Madam

Longbottom. "I'm going to call him out;

him, and that Pink Toad."

"Gus; no!" said Madam Bones, a little fearful

for what her friend would do. "You leave

them to me. Let the law handle this."

"He's mine!" softly snarled a now thoroughly

worked up Regent Longbottom, hoping not

to be heard by her children.

"No!" snapped Madam Bones. "I need him

alive so I can force him to tell me who

pressured him to stop your investigation. I

want all the answers."

"I'm going to kill him!" snarled Madam

Longbottom, again and just as softly as last

time.

"No, you're not!" snapped Harry. "Augusta

Longbottom, you're going to stop acting like

a bloody Gryffindor and listen for a few

minutes. You can kill him later."

Shocked that Harry would speak to her that

way, the elderly witch stopped for a moment.

"We've got him, Augusta," he said.

"Him and that Pink Toad that simpers about

him. If you go and kill him his replacement is

likely to be just as bad.

"Fudge is only interested in four things. They

are: Holding on to power, his reputation, his

life, and the money he's obviously collecting

in bribes; probably in that order. We

can use that. With the threat of going public

with what we now know, we can blackmail

the shit out of him. We can force him to do

just about anything.

"Threaten him with going public and he'll be

forced to know, if we go ahead with it, he'll

get fired by the Wizengamot as Minister, his

reputation will end up in tatters, his bribe

money will dry up, and those who bribe him

will probably kill him for you anyway. Just kill

him and he's a wasted asset.

"Plus, we don't know when he... or, rather,

the Pink Toad... figured out what was going

on with your son and daughter-in-law. It may

not have been that long ago. Or, it might

have been years ago. We don't know.

"If we threaten him and keep him where he

is, he's ours to control. Amelia can still get

out of him who it was who demanded he

stop your investigation or block me receiving

the Order. She can do it in secret. It's time to

use their modus operandi against them."

"Alright!" she snapped back. "But,

afterwards, he's mine!"

"Fair enough," replied Harry, calmer now

that Madam Longbottom was not just going

to immediately hare off and kill the man and

his toad. "Now, I personally think this has

Umbridge written all over it. If Fudge knew

before now he'd have immediately used it to

boost his popularity. Especially after what

came out about me and Sirius a few months

ago.

Chapter 204

"Think about it. Why hold back something

like this if the only one you can blackmail is a

lowly healer? No. Umbridge was after, or

already knows, whoever it is that got the

healer to do it. I think, however, she was still

trying to figure that out and gather proof.

That leads me to suspect it was someone in

power who is a political enemy. And that

leads, most likely, to Dumbledore."

"Why Dumbledore?" asked Madam Bones.

"Dumbledore knows there's a prophecy

about me in the Hall of Prophecies. I think

it's about me facing Tom Riddle. So,

Dumbledore wants absolute control over

me," he explained, unsure of how much he

could tell them. "So he can, as he would put

it, directly guide me to my destiny."

"But what does that have... Alice is your

godmother," said Sirius, suddenly figuring it

out. "Just as I'm your godfather."

"Exactly," confirmed Harry. "Dumbledore

demanded magical guardianship of me. He'd

never have that if Sirius wasn't in Azkaban,

or Alice rendered... mentally incapable... of

looking after me. My guardianship would

have been given to either or both in joint

custody."

"You honestly think Dumbledore would

stoop so low?" asked Madam Bones.

"Yeah, I do," he sighed. "Think about what

he's been up to recently regarding me. He

sent me to live with relatives outside of the

magical world, and he blocked me from

receiving mail from it. Both of those led to

me having no idea about the magical world,

or my place within it, until I reached

Hogwarts as an eleven year old. I was...

magically clueless.

"Lately, he tried to stop me from clearing the

air about what my life was like, he tried to

stop me from telling the world Voldemort's

real identity, when my magical guardianship

was stripped from him he tried to get it back,

when I was emancipated he tried to have it

overturned and to again be awarded magical

guardianship, and he's tried to stick his nose

numerous times into my House business.

Why?

"Simple. He wants control of me and have

me stupid. There's no doubt, in my mind,

he's aware of the same prophecy in the Hall

of Prophecies. And he thinks he's the only

one who can guide me to fulfilling it the way

he wants it fulfilled."

Turning more fully to Madam Bones, he said,

"Amelia, I need to get into the Hall of

Prophecies to hear that prophecy. I think it

holds much of the answers as to what's going

on. And, I want you and Sirius, at least, there

when I hear it. Can you organise that?"

She looked back for a few moments before

she said, "First, I want to confirm

there is actually such a prophecy there. If

there is, I'll organise for you to hear it."

"Thank you," he replied.

"I'd like to be there, too," said Madam

Longbottom.

"You'd be welcome," he replied.

"In the mean time," said a clearly

determined Sirius, "I'm going to take up

where Augusta left off with the investigation.

Fudge... or Umbridge... might have thought

they've won this round; but, I intend for

them to learn they've simply replaced a

terrier with a grim that's just as tenacious.

"Maybe doing that will help us to learn of the

identity of whomever it is that's pressuring

Fudge to block Harry's Order of Merlin."

"Be careful when you do so," Harry said

firmly. "When they realise, as you put it,

they've just exchanged a terrier for a grim,

they may try a more... permanent measure."

Sirius nodded back and said, "I'll be careful,

Pup."

"Good," said Madam Bones. "And I'll attack

him from the other side with questions

about how he learned of the activities of the

Healer-of-Record."

"Then we begin to... extort... what we want

out of him," added Madam Longbottom,

equally determined.

"Then we have a plan, and a puppet." said

Harry. "Now we just have to figure out how,

and in what way, to make it dance to our

tune."

When the three returned to Hogwarts Harry

immediately told them of his talk with

Mesdames Longbottom and Bones and

Sirius.

"But, Harry; that's a lot of guesswork," said

Hermione.

"Yes, but also likely," said Daphne. "It fits

with what we know and makes sense. It also

shows a likely explanation of why the

Longbottoms were woken in this timeline,

but not in the original one.

"My letter to Madam Longbottom had her go

after the Minister and his office. That caused

the Minister and, likely, Umbridge to come

up with a way to stop her. Umbridge, in

response, used her knowledge of what was

happening to the Longbottoms to redirect

Madam Longbottom's attention, which she

didn't have to do in the original timeline. And,

the Longbottoms were revived."

"Yes," replied Harry. "Plus, I think it was

evidence against Dumbledore being the one

paying the Healer-of-Record to keep them

mentally incompetent she used against him

when she turned up here in our fifth year. I

think it's why he was such a wimp against

her and her activities. She might not have

actually had the evidence; but, telling him

she did, might have been enough to get his

compliance."

"This is what's had you so mentally

distracted these last few days, isn't it?" asked

Hermione.

"Yes," he replied.

"You know you can use us as sounding

boards, don't you?" she asked.

"Yes," he sighed, realising she was right. He

should have. "Sorry," he sheepishly said. "It's

just... I used to always just use my inner voice

to do this when I was... before I came to

Hogwarts."

They both understood.

Neville returned late afternoon on the

Sunday and immediately sought out the

three.

"What did you say to my Gran, Harry," he

demanded, as soon as the door to the

apartment was opened for him. "She's been

furious about something ever since. I know

it's not me, because she'd not have kept it

from me. But, she's clearly upset about

something."

Harry sighed and said, "Take a seat, Nev."

Neville walked over and sat down on the

edge of it, still looking quite antsy. And

clearly still wanting answers.

"I figured out the Minister... or Madam

Umbridge, more likely... knew your parents

were being dosed with that hideous potion

well before he, the toad and the aurors

stormed into the healer's office," Harry

explained, getting right to the point.

Chapter 205

"I also pointed out how it looked... how it

was such an incredible coincidence that the

Minister discovered what was happening to

your parents, as it was the same time your

Gran was on a tear through his own offices

about me not being awarded the Order of

Merlin he's supposed to award me, yet.

"And how, something happening to the

health of one of her family would be about

the only thing that would instantly stop your

Gran continuing her investigation."

Harry watched as Neville's face morphed into

one of great anger.

"It's just an incredible coincidence that what

was happening to your parents was

discovered and acted upon at the same time

your Gran was making life extremely difficult

for the Minister? I think not," replied Harry,

answering his own question. "That's what

your Gran, Madam Bones, Sirius and I were

discussing that angered your Gran."

Neville suddenly shot to his feet and began

pacing. Harry was thankful that the young

man wasn't immediately talking about going

and killing the Minister. But, the future Head

of House Longbottom was now clearly in

evidence.

The young man suddenly stopped and glared

at Harry. "How is it Gran hasn't gone straight

over there and confronted him with it? I'd

have expected her to challenge him to an

honour duel on hearing something like that."

"There are... plans in the works," replied

Harry. "We convinced your Gran not to

behave so brashly with this. We're going to

use this information to get concessions and

further information out of the Minister and

his Pink Toad, first. However, when the time

comes, your Gran will exact her vengeance

on both of them. Do not concern yourself

with that."

"What are the plans?" he snapped.

"I'm sorry, Nev. I spoke to your Gran as

Regent Longbottom; one allied House to

another," replied Harry. "I really shouldn't

have told you as much as I have. But, I

consider you my friend. And, if your father

still remains unable to take the mantle, you'll

be the Longbottom and Head of House soon

enough. I think you had the right to know

that much.

"However, the plans must remain secret.

Only four people will know what is going on,

and they're all Regents or Heads of Ancient

Houses. You need to trust in your

grandmother to do what is right for House

Longbottom."

Neville scowled back but didn't disagree.

"You've had a Hell of a couple of days,

Neville," said Hermione. "Here you were,

another day of school at Hogwarts. Suddenly,

you're told your parents have... woken up

from their conditions. You're quickly sent

through to see them. You probably don't

even believe it until you actually get to lay

eyes on them and see it for yourself..."

He nodded back, a little sadly.

"A couple of days later and you're beginning

to accept they're back," she continued.

"Suddenly, Harry's there telling your

grandmother something. She becomes quite

angry about what he's told her; and, she's

been angry ever since. And you now find

yourself happy about your parents, but

worried... if not a little afraid... about your

grandmother."

Again he nodded.

"It's completely understandable," she said,

walking over to give him a hug where he sat.

"Has what Harry told you helped?" she asked,

pulling away from him a little.

"Yeah," he croaked, a little emotional.

He looked to Harry, cleared his throat a little,

and asked, "So, you think the Minister knew

about what Healer Tompkins was up to and

didn't act until he needed a way to... divert

my grandmother?"

"Close," replied Harry, surprised Neville

figured out that much so quickly. "I

think Madam Umbridge, the Pink Toad,

figured it out... when, I don't know... and

gave that tidbit of information to the

Minister, so he could use it to divert your

grandmother's attention away from her

investigation.

"I'm sorry it's upset your grandmother, Nev;

when she should be experiencing a period of

great happiness..."

Neville gave a wave off gesture. "You were

honour-bound to tell her, Harry.

I know that," he sighed, sitting further back

in his seat to lean back onto the backrest.

"But now you know what happened," said

Daphne. "You're going to need to keep that

you know a secret. How're your Occlumency

shields?"

"Pretty good," he replied. "I might not keep

out a powerful Legilimens; but, I'll know if

they're rummaging around in there."

"Good," said Daphne. "That should do. We're

worried someone like the Headmaster might

get it into his head to read your mind to find

out what you know."

"He's tried. So has Snape," he replied.

"They've not tried since I first detected them

both, though. That was in first year."

"Yeah, same with me," said Daphne.

"You both know that's illegal, right?" asked

Harry.

"Yes. But, where's the proof?" asked Daphne.

"Unlike when Dumbledore tried it on you in

his office, he'd have cleared his wand before

we could get the aurors here."

During the days leading up to the second task,

Harry trained a fair bit more, but also made

both his wives also train minimal wand

movement casting. His argument was, if

either of them were taken down to the

bottom of the lake, they'd also likely be

casting spells underwater.

Of the two, Hermione was managing it a bit

better. Her wand gestures were more precise

- and, therefore, lent themselves better to

minimal casting - and were quicker. But,

Daphne was more accurate and able to think

more creatively.

As soon as classes finished for the day, a

Monday, the three hurried back to their

apartment. Once inside, both girls handed

off their wands to Harry. But, with a slight

change of plan, both girls strapped their

second wands to the inside of their thighs

with tape.

Harry looked on, amused. "Do I need to be

jealous of a wand? I think those two sticks

are going to get more action than me,

tonight."

"You get enough," Hermione smirked back.

Not wanting to appear as if they knew what

was going on, the three went down to dinner,

as per usual. It was as they were about to

leave that Professor Flitwick asked the three

of them to accompany him to his office off

his classroom.

Once in the charms corridor, as it was

unofficially known, the Professor ushered

them inside his office.

After taking seat, he turned to them and said,

"Mister Potter, have you determined the

nature of the second task, yet?"

"Yes, Professor," he replied. "Some... item... I

place great personal value in will be taken

from me and will end up in the lake. My task

will be to recover it."

"Errr... not quite," the Professor corrected.

"A... person... will be taken and placed in the

bottom of the lake."

Chapter 206

"That's not what the clue states, Professor,"

Harry angrily retorted. "It states: 'Come seek

us where our voices sound; we cannot sing

above the ground. And while you're

searching, ponder this: we've taken what

you'll sorely miss. An hour long you'll have to

look; and to recover what we took. But past

an hour - the prospect's black; too late, it's

gone, it wont come back'.

"That means it's something... not someone."

With a sigh the little Professor said, "Be that

as it may, it is hostages that have been

chosen for you for the four of you to rescue. I

suppose that's what they mean by 'it'."

Shaking his head, Harry asked, "So they want

a hostage. Any idea who they've chosen for

me? Or, don't I get to know until I find

them?"

"That's what this meeting is about, Mister

Potter," replied Flitwick. "For the three

champions a hostage was selected without

their awareness. The champions won't even

know that until they arrive on the dock of

the Black Lake.

"However, you're a little different. Because

you're sharing an apartment with these two

ladies, if one of them was to be taken the

evening before, you'd immediately know of it.

And then you'd spend the evening and night

searching the castle for them before calling in

the aurors.

"And that's why the three of you are here. If

anyone other than one of these two ladies

was taken, it would not be someone you'd

sorely miss. So, I convinced the Headmaster...

especially given the nature of your bond and

your heightened level of protection over

them both... you should be told one would

be taken and put in the lake."

Harry snorted and said, "You can tell the

Headmaster you've just saved his life, at the

worst, or saved him a long stay in hospital, at

the least. That aside, I take it you're asking

permission for one of these ladies to be

placed at the bottom of the Lake?"

"That's it exactly," the Professor replied.

Harry turned to his wives and asked, "Are

either one of you willing to do this?

Remembering, of course, I really don't give a

toss about the whole thing."

Daphne and Hermione looked at each other

before both turned back. Hermione said,

"We've decided, and it'll be me that get's

taken."

"You're sure?" asked Harry. "I know I'll get to

you well before the hour's up, but it means

you're going to get wet and look pretty

bedraggled coming out of the lake."

"We're sure," smiled Hermione.

"I have no idea, other than voyeur thrills,

why a hostage needs to be taken," said Harry

turning back to the Professor. "But, it seems

Hermione's volunteered and willing to be

taken.

"However, if Daphne's taken because

Dumbledore's decided other than my choice.

I call the aurors rather than jump into the

lake. I'm telling you, in advance, it will be

considered a kidnapping, and I will press

charges against him."

"Understood, Mister Potter," the little

Professor replied.

Daphne and Harry left Hermione behind in

the Professor's office and, quite tense,

quickly headed back to their apartment.

"Did you cast the tracking charm?" asked

Daphne, as soon as they were in the door.

"Of course," said a somewhat distracted

Harry.

"She'll be fine, Harry," she said.

"Hmmm?" he asked before he said, "Oh!

Your wand." And pulled her wand from his

pocket, handing it to her.

"That's not what I said; but, thank you," she

said, taking it from him.

"Do you know, this is going to be the first

night we've been more than a couple of

rooms away from one another since we got

back?" he asked.

She softly sighed and replied, "I know. And

the first night we've not all slept in the same

bed since returning from the Christmas

break."

"You also realise this means I don't get to yell

at Dumbledore for kidnapping one of you

two, right?" he asked.

"I know," she replied. "But that was only a

bonus. It has no effect on the task at hand.

Harry, worried and muttering to himself

while he tried to work on homework, soon

gave that up as a wasted idea. He sat back

and said, "That's not going to work."

Setting her own homework aside, she moved

to sit next to him. "Do you want to go

through the plan again?"

"No," he sighed. "It'd just worry me more."

"Ancient Runes memorisation charts?"

He thought about that for a few moments

before he sighed and replied, "Why not. Let's

give them a go."

"Which set?" she asked. "Elder Futhark,

Younger Futhark or Anglo-Saxon Futhorc?"

"Elder, I think," he replied. "I think it's easier

to work with."

"Elder, it is," she replied.

After about an hour of memorisation testing,

together with examples of how the rune

could be used in modern wizardry, Harry

called it quits.

"Sorry," he said. "I think that's more than

enough."

"Actually, you did very well," she said.

"When you stop trying to let your head get in

the way, and just rattle off what you now

instinctively know, you do brilliantly."

"Something to work on, I suppose," he said,

still distracted.

With an annoyed sigh, she called Dobby. And

the little elf popped in.

"Yes, Mistress?" asked the little elf.

"Could you bring me a Calming Draught,

please?" she asked.

"Yes, Mistress," replied Dobby, before he

popped away.

He was back a moment later with a small

phial of potion, and handed it direct to

Daphne.

"Thank you," she said.

And he popped away again.

"Pack everything up," she said to Harry.

"We're going to bed."

Once everything was packed away, Daphne

dragged him into the bedroom, where they

both readied for bed.

For her part, she simply stripped off and

climbed in.

Once they were both in, nude, she handed

him the phial and said, "Drink."

He downed it and laid back, hoping he'd drift

off soon; but Daphne had other ideas. She

reached across and grasped him, beginning

to massage him.

"Errr, Daph?" he asked, a little surprised by

her ministrations. "You do realise you just

gave me a Calming Draught, right?"

"Of course," she said. "But, I don't think a

Calming Draught, alone, is going to get you to

sleep."

"And what do you intend to do to help, when

what you're doing is keeping me awake?" he

asked

"This," she said, before suddenly ducking her

head under the blankets.

A moment later and Harry moaned,

"Oh, my!"

He wasn't even able to return the gift before

fading off to sleep.

Chapter 207

The next morning both were up, dressed and

down early to breakfast in the Great Hall.

Though again tense, Harry had calmed a lot

and had actually had a good night's sleep.

After breakfast, they returned to the

apartment so Harry could change into his

swimwear. He donned the thermals, and

then pulled his swim trunks on and, finally

the tight elasticised t-shirt he wanted to wear,

over the top.

His wand went into its sheath on his right

arm, with Hermione's in the sheath on his

left. That one was disillusioned. Finally, he

strapped his dive knife in its sheath to his left

thigh.

He pulled on his pair of lightweight trainers

for his feet, and stood ready to go.

Daphne gave him a quick check over to

ensure he had everything, and handed him

the little bag of gillyweed. Finally, she

grabbed his heavy, winter cloak and pulled it

around his shoulders, fastening it in place.

"You're ready," she said.

Harry nodded, squared his shoulders, and

said, "Thank you. Now, let's go get our wife."

On the dock sticking out into the lake, Harry

was able to manoeuvre things so that he

stood next to Delacour. "Miss Delacour?" he

softly asked her.

Looking askance at him she softly replied,

"Mister Potter."

"Stay out of the kelp beds, alright? They're

full of vicious grindylows," he softly but

firmly said to her.

She looked at him for a while longer before

clearly deciding he wasn't trying to sabotage

her. "Thank you," she replied, and turned

back to the preparations.

With her attention no longer on him, Harry

moved away and stripped out of his robe and

trainers. And immediately activated the

runes Daphne had weaved into his thermals

to keep a Warming charm activated and his

body warm. The layout was designed to keep

his trunk warm and faded out to the

extremities.

Once Harry began disrobing, so did the three

Champions.

He quickly checked himself over to ensure he

still had everything. Gillyweed, check.

Hermione's wand - still disillusioned, check.

Knife in sheath and strap securing it, check.

Dive watch - of course, check. Rune-based

warming charm activated, check. Ready to

rock!

Once he was ready he looked to the judges

table for the first time. As expected he saw

Dumbledore looking back at him with not a

little worry on his face.

Calling over, Harry said, "Headmaster

Dumbledore. Did you warn the merfolk that

if they get in my way I'll kill them?"

His face almost immediately changing from

worry to anger, Dumbledore replied, "Yes,

Mister Potter. However, I also warned them

you won't attack unless directly provoked.

Don't make a liar out of me."

Harry was going to taunt the old man about

how he already thought he was a liar; but

Bagman, realising he had to say something

fast, stepped forward and cast his Sonorus

charm.

Bagman ran through his spiel for the

spectators, who wouldn't actually be able to

see anything, anyway, and he was about to

start the countdown. As soon as he called

'three' Harry threw the mouthful of

gillyweed into his mouth and braced himself

for the change.

On 'One!' he readied to dive into the water,

doing so a second later, and waited for the

transformation to complete. It did, a few

seconds later.

He popped his wand, cast a quick Point Me

charm to ensure his direction, then pointed it

behind him and cast the Aguamenti charm

while also kicking with his now very large

webbed feet. Holding on to the wand tightly,

he soon caught up to, and passed, the other

three competitors. The only one who had any

chance of keeping pace with him was Victor

Krum. His incomplete transformation into a

shark allowed him to breathe under water

and travel quicker than the other two; but,

without a tail, most of his propulsion was

lacking.

Harry maintained a steady rhythm that

powered him through the water. He

conserved as much energy as he could, and

kept the pumping of his legs and magic

through his wand at a pace he was

comfortable with.

He felt he was about halfway there when he

suddenly heard the voice of Moaning Myrtle

Cummings from off to the side. "How're you

getting on?" she asked.

Harry grinned back and flipped her a thumbs

up. He'd completely forgotten Myrtle had

helped point him in the right direction in the

previous timeline.

"You're doing very well, and you're going

really fast!" she said. "You just need to turn

ever so slightly to the left."

He flipped her another thumbs up and made

the slight course correction.

"You're a little over halfway there, Harry,"

she said. "I'd like to stay some more and

guide you right in, but they don't like me

very much. They chase me away." And, with

that, she was gone.

When he knew he was close he began to

hear the merpeople's song. A quick stop, a

recast of the Point Me charm, and he was on

his way again. He only had to change his

direction a few more degrees to the left to

have him heading direct to the village.

Coming up on the village from high, he

ensured he passed over many of the merfolk

below before conjuring up a heavy dumbbell

to hold in his left hand. Using that, he then

dropped straight down into the centre of the

village as if in the aquatic version of a

Wronski Feint. He simply dropped the

dumbbell once he was about five feet off the

bottom, allowing it to continue to fall and

puff up a small cloud of silt as it landed.

Right in front of him were the four hostages.

As per the previous timeline they were in an

enchanted sleep and fully clothed. Each was

tied to the tail of a single large statue of a

merperson. Harry assumed it was the

founder of the merpeople's enclave, here, in

the Black Lake.

He spotted Hermione immediately, of course.

Either side of her were Megan Jones of

Hufflepuff, and little Gabrielle Delacour. And

Cho Chang was on the other side of Megan.

'Hunh!' he thought. 'I'd forgotten Krum went

to the Ball with Jonesy, this time.'

He quickly pulled the knife from it's scabbard

at his left thigh and moved forward to cut

the kelp rope tying Hermione to the statue.

He pulled her adrift before cutting a short

piece of the kelp and using it to tie her hair

back. The movement of the water had it

getting in the way of her being able to see

clearly.

Resheathing his blade, he switched hands to

hold her and used his wand to cast the

Bubblehead charm at her head, using his

deep unabiding love for her to power it to

make it last as long as possible. He knew she

was capable of casting it silently; but, didn't

want to take the risk of it failing before she

reached the surface, and being unable to cast

it again.

Chapter 208

As expected and hoped, she woke up. For

only a moment she was confused before her

eyes snapped to look into Harry's own eyes.

She grinned back.

With a grin of his own, Harry released his

grip on her and handed over her wand.

Watching, he could see she was struggling a

little to stop from floating up. So, he created

a small dumbbell she could hold in her left

hand. It only weighed about a pound but,

apparently, it was enough.

Harry pointed upwards to her before

pointing two fingers to his eyes before

making it look like he was peering into the

distance. She nodded back, knowing the

plan.

Kicking her legs a little she floated upwards

before coming to a stop about twenty feet

up.

While he waiting for her to get into position,

Harry took a look around, himself. For the

first time, he realised the merfolk warriors

had closed in and were making threatening

gestures to him.

Again, he drew his knife and gave them a bit

of a maniacal grin before threatening them

right back. They immediately backed off,

though still looked angry.

'Dumbledore did warn them,' he thought.

'Thank God.'

And there they waited for the other

competitors.

After a while Harry glanced at his watch and

realised the first of the other champions

should just about be onto them.

However, the merfolk seemed to rally their

courage and started to move back in again.

Again, he had to threaten them to make

them back off.

With the merfolk backed away again, Harry

glanced up at Hermione. Catching his eye,

she gestured off into the distance before

holding up two fingers. Two champions were

now within visual range. She hoped one of

them was Delacour.

A few minutes later, he saw Krum's shark

form come swimming in to the village.

Delacour was not far behind. Thankfully, the

vision of a half man half shark was enough to

scare the merfolk right off.

As Krum approached, Harry held up the knife

to show him.

As soon as Krum arrived he paused just a

moment before he made as if to bite at the

kelp. Instead, Harry moved forward and cut

the kelp for him, thereby lessening the risk of

a bite wound to his hostage. He thought

Jonesy would appreciate it.

Krum looked at him for a moment before he

made a weird sort of bow. He then grasped a

loose end of kelp rope with his teeth before

heading for the surface with his hostage.

By the time he'd finished Delacour had

arrived. Again, he stepped forward to cut the

kelp. However, this time, the merfolk

warriors tried to step in. They were looking

quite angry.

Harry cut the kelp while also raising his wand

to point at the nearest merfolk. Delacour

hadn't seen them moving in, so fixedly was

she attending to her hostage – her younger

sister.

As soon as young Gabrielle was free, Fleur

looked around for Harry, and saw that he

was holding off the merfolk.

He cast a quick glance at her, and pointed to

her before he jabbed his finger skywards. As

she began to ascend, towing her little sister,

Harry brought up the rear, waving both his

wand and knife around at the merfolk.

He again cast a quick glance upwards and

saw Hermione latch onto the robes at the

shoulder of young Gabrielle, before adding

her efforts to those of Fleur to ascend.

Hermione nearly hit him with the dumbbell

weight as she let it fall from her grasp.

With the ascent now assured, two of the

merfolk tried to dash forward with their

spears raised threateningly. Harry cast a

quick two bludgeoning curses to the face of

both before all the merfolk backed off again.

At that point he swum up under Gabrielle

and, pushing upwards against her bum with

his shoulder, rapidly kicked with his massive

flipper like feet and powered all three to the

surface.

Watching as Hermione created a small boat

for the three of them, he then boosted,

Hermione first, then Gabrielle, and finally

Fleur, into the boat before he moved around

to the rear of it.

He held his breath and stuck his head out of

the water for a moment to orient himself

before dropping back under.

Gripping the stern end of the keel, he turned

the boat in the direction of the dock and

powered it back. Unsurprisingly, he passed a

now untransformed Krum with a struggling

Jonesy. It looked like the girl couldn't swim.

But he watched as Hermione conjured a

small raft for them as they passed, leaving it

in the water for them.

As soon as Harry had pushed the boat to the

dock, he quickly checked his watch. He

figured he had time.

Quickly, he powered back to the village; but,

only made it about three quarters of the way

back before he saw Diggory and Chang

swimming on the surface.

He stopped just ahead of them and conjured

another small boat. Then helped them both

to climb in before pushing it back to the dock

just as his gillyweed ran out.

As he climbed out he was lifted under his

arms by Krum and Diggory, who pulled him

the rest of the way up onto the dock. As they

stepped away from him a blanket was

thrown over his form and together with

Diggory, Krum, Hermione, Chang and Jones -

who also all had blankets draped over their

forms - he was hustled off to the medical

tent. Obviously, the two Delacours couldn't

wait. But, Harry was okay with that,

considering both were Veela.

As he entered the medical tent, Fleur dashed

forward and wrapped her arms around him

in a big hug for a moment. She then backed

off and gripping the sides of his head, quickly

planted a big kiss to each of his cheeks.

"Zank you, Monsieur Potier!" she exclaimed,

almost gushing with gratitude. "Zank you!"

"Hey you!" called Hermione. "Get your mitts

off my man!" But, a quick look at Hermione's

face, and you could tell she wasn't angry; she

was grinning.

Fleur immediately released Harry and quickly

moved in to hug Hermione. "You too!" she

cried. "Zank you! Zank you!"

Harry just rolled his eyes as Madam Pomfrey

was trying to get them all to sit on hospital

cots.

Quickly, while angrily declaiming the whole

event, the medi-healer forced Pepper-up

potions into each of their hands. "Who ever

had the stupid idea of holding

a swimming competition, in the Black Lake,

in the middle of winter, needs their collective

heads examined!" the medi-witch angrily

muttered. "Of all the idiotic,

Merlin bedamned..."

Chapter 209

Harry just tuned her out and made sure

Hermione was alright. He cast drying and

drought charms on them both before moving

to do the same to young Jonesy. Fleur had

already looked after her sister's needs, and

he figured the champions could take care of

their own.

A few moments later, Daphne hurried in and

engulfed the both of them in a hug. "Thank

Merlin you're both alright!" she softly

exclaimed while holding on to the both of

them.

"We are, love," replied Harry, just as softly.

"We are."

Pulling her head back a little to look them

both in eyes she asked, "Did the plan go off

alright? From what I could see it did."

"Yeah, it did," said Harry. "I only had to hit

two of the merfolk in the face with weak

bludgeoning curses to get them to back off.

The rest of the time they just threatened.

They weren't happy I took their toys away

from them."

"Well, you've got the judges all arguing now,"

she said. "Karkaroff is trying to claim Krum

should get the maximum points and first

place for the task because Krum was the first

back to the surface. Maxime is arguing that,

as the elder Miss Delacour was the first onto

the dock with her sister when you pushed

them all back in the boat that Delacour

should receive the maximum points and first

place. But the others are arguing that you

were the first to reach and rescue your

hostage, which was the point of the task,

so you should receive maximum points and

first place.

"There're also arguments that you interfered

with the task for the other competitors

except Diggory and, therefore, you should be

disqualified. And that points should be

deducted from Krum and Delacour because

you had to step in to help them. It's a mess."

"Not if we have anything to say about it!"

exclaimed Diggory. Harry didn't realise they

were all listening in.

Diggory turned to the other two champions

and brought them into a huddle, as Harry sat

with his wives. Daphne blushed and looked

sheepish at him and softly said, "Oops!" This

just made Harry lightly chuckle while

Hermione grinned back at her.

Not more than fifteen seconds later, their

mini huddle broke up. Diggory turned to

Harry and said, "Come on. We're going to see

the judges."

Harry gave a little grin and shrugged his

shoulders. "Okay," he said as he climbed

back to his feet, ready to follow the other

three. "But, as I've made clear, I'm really not

interested in the points."

"Maybe not," replied Krum. "But, vee are."

Just as they were standing, Daphne suddenly

reached out with the lid and glass halves of a

glass jar and snagged something from

Hermione's hair between them. Quickly

pulling the two from Hermione's hair, both

Harry and Hermione's eyes widened at what

she'd caught within the jar, as she screwed

the lid down firmly - one animagus water

beetle. And the beetle was frantically trying

to escape.

Holding the now sealed jar in her left hand

she pulled Harry's knife from its sheath on

his thigh and quickly stabbed a couple of

holes into the lid, before handing the knife

back. Hermione's hand came up with her

wand and she cast an Unbreakable charm on

the jar.

As the three grinned at each other and

followed the three champions back out of

the tent, Daphne slipped the jar into her

pocket. "We'll have a chat with nosey Miss

Skeeter back in our apartment, later."

The four contestants, plus their four hostages

and Daphne, all walked back down to the

dock where the judges were gathered and

still arguing.

As they walked onto the dock, Bagman saw

them and his eyes lit up. He was about to say

something when Diggory pulled his wand out

and cast a Cannon Blast charm into the air.

That frightened just about everyone within

ten feet. But, it did silence the judges, which

was the effect he was going for.

"Since none of you could see what was going

on below the water, perhaps you should

ask us what happened before you think of

awarding anyone points, hmm?" he asked.

Harry cocked an eyebrow in amusement at

that. He never saw, before, that Diggory had

a firm backbone and could stand up to

authority figures like that. Especially, when

three of those authority figures were the

Heads of schools.

"Now, Cedric my boy," said Dumbledore.

"We'll be with you in just a moment."

"Yet, vee are wif you now," said Krum with

his somewhat laconic style of speaking.

"Zey are... correct," said Delacour. "We

will not accept points unless our views are

'aird."

With the three Heads, Bagman and Crouch

the elder all looking back in surprised shock

at the four competitors, Dumbledore looked

to Harry and asked, "Is this your view, as well,

Mister Potter?"

With a snort, Harry replied, "I've told you

before, Headmaster; I really don't give a shit

about the points. However, these three do;

and I'm here to present a... united front, so

to speak."

With his disappointed grandfatherly persona

going full blast, Dumbledore said, "Very well.

Then it behoves us to listen to what you have

to say."

"Dumbledore; surely, you can't..." began

Karkaroff.

Dumbledore didn't even turn to look at the

man. He just held his hand up in a stop

gesture and expected silence. He got it.

"Mister Diggory?" he enquired. "I take it you

wish to put your views?"

"We do, Headmaster," he corrected. "Harry

won this event, just as he clearly did in the

first task. You lot robbed him of his rightful

points for that task. You will not rob him of

his rightful points for this one. He will get full

points and, if you can swing it, he'll get bonus

points for clearly saving the lives of both

Miss Delacour and her hostage, her sister.

"This whole... farce... is supposedly about

friendly competition between the schools.

You, as the judges, obviously seem to have

forgotten that. However, we have not. And

Harry staying behind to assist Victor, before

then saving the lives of both Miss Delacours,

epitomised that. I daresay the only reason he

did not remain behind to assist me is because

he had to get the Delacours out of there."

He turned to look questioningly at Harry.

Harry nodded back at the boy before

returning his attention to the judges.

"Obviously, those who set up this event

clearly forgot two important facts," he said.

"First, Veela... as creatures of fire and air...

are grossly disadvantaged by an event held

underwater. That created a

very unfair playing field.

"And, second, you all were so

fucking stupid as to utterly forget that Veela

and Merfolk are mortal enemies; and that

the feud between them has existed for

centuries. We, however, did not. That's why I

stayed back. I was worried the merfolk were

going to seize their opportunity and kill both.

By the way they attempted to attack as I

assisted Miss Delacour, it appears we were

correct.

Chapter210

"Now, since both also happen to be the

granddaughters of the head of the main

Veela enclave in Europe... and, together, are

well-known to be the only children of the

Head of the French DMLE... it still seemed to

take the understanding of three teens to

figure out what was going to happen, both in

the water and afterwards, if we didn't

intervene.

"Tell me, Chief Warlock Dumbledore, is

magical Britain ready to prosecute a war

against both magical France and the entire

Veela populace? Because, if either or both of

these young ladies were killed down there

today, I think even people as stupid as you

lot have proven yourselves to be could

understand what was going to happen."

He waited for that to sink in before he turned

back to Diggory. "Sorry, Cedric; you were

saying?"

"Errr... yes," said Diggory getting his thoughts

back in order. He turned to the now

thoroughly stunned judges and said, "That's

even more of a reason why Harry won this

event. So, we don't care how you do it, but

Harry comes first by a wide margin, Victor

comes second, Fleur comes third and I come

fourth. That's the order we rescued our

hostages, which was what we were told the

task was. We're agreed; now, make it happen.

If you don't do it that way, all four of us will

challenge your rulings, as per the contract, in

an open court of findings."

Dumbledore stood a moment more looking

into the faces of the resolute competitors

and hostages before he turned back to the

other four judges.

As the judges, again, huddled and conversed,

Diggory gestured for the others to move

away and form their own huddle.

Harry grinned and said, "Cedric Diggory... the

idyllic Hufflepuff one moment, the epitome

of Gryffindor courage the next."

"Shove it, Harry," he said, making Harry

snicker, before looking at Delacour. "Is what

Harry said true?" he asked. "Is there a feud

between the Veela and Merfolk?"

"Oui!" she said. "Zough, I must admeet,

even I forgot zat. It makes Monsieur...

'Arry's... show of bravery zat much more...

impressive."

As they talked they were finally interrupted

by Bagman's Sonorus. "The judges have

reached a decision!" he cried.

The points were then tallied as the

champions demanded. Harry received

forty-eight points, Krum received forty, as did

Delacour, and Diggory received thirty-eight.

Harry just snorted in amusement back at a

grinning Diggory, and escorted his two wives

back to the castle. This time, he walked back

accompanied by the three champions and

their hostages. Krum broke off to return to

the ship to change, the Delacours broke off a

short while later to return to their carriage to

do the same, and the rest returned to the

castle.

For after lunch, the competitors and their

hostages were invited back to the

bondmates' apartment.

Just before they entered, Professor

Whittaker told them that while they were

out a red-headed boy had first tried to gain

entrance by demanding it, and then tried to

fire curses and hexes at him. All of which,

failed.

Glancing at each other, Harry turned back to

the statue and asked, "Was one of those

hexes... 'eat slugs'?"

"Yes, it was," replied the statue, chuckling.

"That would have been an interesting

experience, for a statue."

Hermione just muttered, "Ron. What an

idiot."

"Well, at least we know the ward scheme for

anti-curses and hexes holds up to a

determined sub-par fourth year," grinned

Harry.

While Harry and Hermione were changing

out of their lake-dunked clothes, Daphne

alerted Dobby to the influx of guests to

arrive after lunch. Between them, she laid

out the drinks and finger food she wanted to

see served; with Dobby confidently making

his own suggestions and promising he'd have

everything ready while they were away.

Because they would all have just had lunch,

she made sure the finger food was only what

Harry and Hermione called 'nibblies'.

She then fished the jar containing Skeeter

out of her robes and placed it on the

mantelpiece above the fireplace. "You best

know, Skeeter," she said. "The jar has an

unbreakable charm on it. Transform while

inside it, and you'll shoot out in bloody

mushed flesh and bone fragments through

the air holes.

"Secondly, I'm placing a silencing charm on

the jar so you cannot listen in on what's

being said. We'll deal with you later. I suggest

you use this time to consider just how badly

you messed up."

She then stepped back a little and cast the

charm on the jar.

After they'd both had a quick shower to get

the smell of the lake out of their hair and off

their bodies, Harry and Hermione joined

Daphne back in the living room. Quickly,

Daphne helped her sister-wife with her hair,

making sure it was dried, treated and

brushed. And then helped apply a little light

makeup before touching up her own.

"You know I don't think the makeup's

necessary, don't you?" asked Harry.

"Of course we do, love," said Daphne, as she

worked. "However, as the Ladies Potter...

even if most people don't know that yet... we

represent an image of the House. We have to

look the part."

Once ready, the three dropped down to the

Great Hall with lunch about to be served.

Walking in, as usual, with a lady on each arm

had now become commonplace for Harry as

far as the other denizens of Hogwarts were

concerned. Other than breakfast, that

morning, none could recall when the three

had done otherwise since their re-sort,

except for when Daphne was attacked by

Flint.

When Hermione was not on Harry's right arm

that morning, some thought it meant they'd

had an argument. However, they quickly

rethought that belief when they saw it was

Hermione who Harry rescued from the

bottom of the lake.

So, the thoughts of three fellow students

went from a sense of happiness during

breakfast, to annoyance at lunch.

Ginevra Weasley had thought, with

Hermione not on his arm that morning, an

opportunity was presenting itself for her to

be the one on that arm. And, eventually, be

the only one on his arm. When Hermione

suddenly popped her head out of the lake,

conjured a small rowboat and hopped into it,

Ginevra quickly realised what had happened.

And her hopes were, once more, dashed.

Ronald Weasley thought the sight of no

Hermione on Harry's arm meant she had

broken it off with him and was soon to be

running to his own arms in comfort. He'd

been, while shovelling food into his mouth

during breakfast, thinking about how he was

going to make her wait - tell her he was

considering things - before allowing her, out

of the goodness of his heart, to be accepted

back.